Mechanical movement



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F. H. RICHARDS. MECHANICAL MOVEMENT. No. 408,289. Patented May 14, 1889..

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F. H. RICHARDS.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

- No. 403,289. Patented May 14, 1889.

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FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, vASSIGNOR TO DARIEN NV. DODSON, OF W ILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No` 403,289, dated May 14, 1889.

Application filed December 18, 1886. Renewed May 2, 1888. Serial No. 272,534. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RicHARDs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Movements, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of me- 1o chanical movements which includes the one described and claimed in my application Serial No. 218,973 and the present invention consists in certain improvements in the latch mechanism forming a part of the subject-matter of my said prior application, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a plan' view of so much of a mechanical movement 2o of the class specified as embodies my present invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the latch mechanism proper, showing the latch set ready for use. Fig. 3 is a partial similar view showing a modiiied tripping-arm.

2 5 Figs. 4 to S, inclusive, are enlarged views of a part of Figs. 2 and 3, illustrating the operation of the improvements. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a tripping-wheel substituted for the tripping-arm. Figs. 10

and 11 illustrate the operation of this modification.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the figures.

The frame-work A, of any preferred con- 3 5 struction adapted to carry the mechanism, has

a stud or shaft, D, on which turns a revoluble frame or turret, H, that carries the shaft 6,

having thereon the starting-arm 26. Said frame also has formed therein a suitable bearing for a reciprocating latch, 50, which is thrown forward (toward the left hand, as shown in the drawings) by a spring, 52, acting through rod 53 against projection 54, formed on said latch, a suitable stop, as 55,

being provided to properly limit the forward movement of the latch. The object, construction, and mode of operation of these several parts are fully described in my aforesaid application, No. 218,973, to which reference may 5o be had.

According to my present invention the reciprocating latch has pivoted thereto at 3 a latch-pawl, 4, arranged to engage with a notch or corner, as 5, on frame A. Said pawl may be so constructed as to be moved down by gravity; but I prefer to use some kind of spring, as 2, to normally hold the pawl against a stop, 7, as shown best in Figs. 4, 5, and 8.

` For operating it to unhook the latch, said pawl 4 has attached thereto a projecting arm 6c orlever, 8,'which arm has a limited movement on said pawl-that is to say, the latchpawl is virtually a compound or composite one, it comprising two parts having a slack connection one with the other. The part 4 65 serves as the latch-pawl proper, while the part 8 serves as a lever to operate said pawl. In its preferred form said lever Sis constructed and arranged vas shown in Figs.

2 to 8, inclusive. The lever 8 is loosely piv- 7o oted to pawl 4 at 9, directly below pivot 3, the hole 10 being somewhat elongated in avertical direction, as shown. Said lever has two bearings or stops, 11 12, which normally rest against the ledge 13 of pawl 4, the .lever be- 75 ing held up by a spring, 14, connected to the pawl and to the lever at 15, which point is laterally between points 9 and 12, By means of this construction and arrangement of the parts lever 8 is evidently capable of move- 8o ment on pawl 4 in two direction s-downward,

as in Figs. 5 and 6, and upward, as in Fig. 8. The outer end, 16, of said lever stands at a height about midway between the heights of points 3 and 9. This arrangement results in an 8 5 outward movement (toward the right hand) of point 16 when the lever is swung down, as

in Fig. 5, and in an inward movement when the lever is swung upward, asin Fig. 8. Said outward movement, however, is (or may be) 9o more than oset by the movement toward the left hand of pin 9 when the pawl is swung up, as in Fig. 7.

For operating the composite pawl I use a key provided with a tripping device or arm arranged to strike end 16 of lever 8., One form of this apparatus is shown in Fig. 2, where 17 is the key and 19 the tripping-bar having the working-point 18. The bar is thrown up by a spring, 2l, and stops 22 and roo 23 may be provided to properly limit the movement of said bar. In the other form,

Fig. 3, key 17 is on a sliding bar, 2l, which carries the same working-point, 18, the bar being lifted by a spiral spring, 25. These two forms of the tripping device I consider to be substantially the same and to vary merely in unessential particulars.

The operation of my present improvements, when thus constructed, is as follows: The latch being hooked back and the parts standro ing as in Figs. 1,2, and 3, with point 18 above point 16, the operator forces down the key either slowly or quickly, as it may happen. This brings point 18 down to point 16, as in Fig. 4, and next swings lever 8 down against pin 9, as in Fig. 5. After this the further downward movement of point 18 (seen by comparison with the similar dotted lines, SO, situated the same in cach figure) swings pawl 4 on pin 3 until the pawl slips off notch 5, 2o (see Fig. 6,) and thus allows latch 50 to be thrown forward, as in Fig. 7 This draws point 16 from under point 18, when spring 11 pulls lever 8'back to its normal position on pawl 4, as in Fig. 7 Now the point 1G stands above point 18, and if the latch be immediately returned said point 16 will stand over the other point, as shown by dotted lines at 31, Figs. 7 and 8.

It will be seen from this that the above-de- 3o scribed slack connection is here utilized to prevent interference of point 16 with point 18 in case the latch is returned by arm 26 before the operator releases the key. This, in fact, is the usual mode of its operation, 3 5 since in practice the complete double stroke of the latch occupies only a very small fraction of a second-frequently less than the fiftieth part thereof. The latch having been returned and hooked back, the key is released, 4o and peint18 rises from its lower position and, swinging up lever 8, passes by point 16, as in Fig. 8, and again stands, as in Figs. 2 and 3, ready for further use.

In the modiiied form, Figs. 9 to 11, inclusive, the lever 8 may be more closely pivoted on pin 9, and is arranged to only yield (as regards pawl Il) to a force acting downwardly on point 16, as will be clearly seen by comparing its several posit-ions in said figures.

5o The tripping device here consists in a toothed wheel, 32, turning on stud 33, and operated by a pawl, 3i, on stem 24, which pawl acts on a ratchetfwheel, 35, fixed on said wheel 32. Said wheel 32 has teeth 36, corresponding sub- 5 5 stantially with the aforesaid point 18.

In using this form of the latch mechanism the operator, as before, presses on key 17. This turns wheels and 32, bringing tooth 36 down to point 16, Fig. 9, next swinging down lever 8 to a firm bearing on ledge 13, Fig. 10, and finally unhoeking the pawl, as in Fig. 11. This allows the latch to go forward and to be returned with point 16 above the said tooth 36, and this of course regardless of the position of the key. In this case it is evident there is no occasion to return tooth 16 by a reverse movement thereof, since the next tooth et the wheel is ready for use.

It will be understood that this apparatus is capable of modification in various ways and degrees other than the ways described, after the manner of machines in general and within the scope and lim its-o1' my invention.

This latch mechanism is applicable as a wheel-starting apparatus to type-writers ol' that general class which includes the typewriter described in United States Patent No. 299,754, granted to l). NV. Dodson, June 3,

1884-that is to say, to type-writers whose types or type-wheels have independent orbital and axial rotary movements.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination, in a latch mechanism of the class described, of a reciprocating latch, a compound latch-pawl carried thereon, the two parts of which pawl have a slack connection, a key, and a tripping device intermediate to said key and pawl, all substantially as specified,

2. The combination, with a reciprocating latch, of pawl i, carried thereon and constructed to carry lever 8, the lever 8, carried on said pawl and adapted to have a movement limited by stops, and a tripping-point, substantially as described, for operating said lever, substantially as specified.

3. r he combination of the latch, a compound latch-pawl carried thereon, the two parts of which pawl have a slack connection, a key, and a rotary tripping device actuated by said key and intermediate to said key and pawl, all substantially as specified.

FRANCIS ll. RICHARDS.

lvitnesses:

WILBUR M. STONE, DAMEN W. DoDsoN.

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